Two injured in massive Mankhurd blaze

Mankhurd - A massive fire broke out in the Mankhurd transit camp on Thursday evening, gutting a series of scrap godowns and shops.

Two persons injured in the fire have been admitted to the Shatabdi hospital in Govandi. It was a herculean task for the Mumbai fire brigade which despatched 25 fire engines, 20 water tankers, two emergency medical service vans and five ambulances to the spot.

The area is home to a massive scrap market that has shops, godowns, factory units. Raju Yadav (30) and Aju Pal (40) were injured in the incident .

According to eyewitnesses, the blaze started at five pm on Thursday inside an oil godown, gutting shanties and scrap godowns. The fire raged for 12 hours devastating everythig in its wake.

Residents meanwhile claim that the blaze started around 5.30 pm but the fire brigade turned up only after 6 30 pm. "Even though the local fire station is just at a distance of five minutes from the spot of the fire, they took over an hour to reach the spot," residents alleged.

The inferno surged after a couple of cylinders exploded in the blaze, adding to the confusion. 400 shanties around the spot were evacuated immediately and 2000 local residents were moved to local schools in the vicinity.

"We are not cared for by either the collectorate or the BMC," residents alleged.